


The Classroom Gems

by ClodGaysOnMotorcycles



Category: Class (TV 2016), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 20:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17856278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClodGaysOnMotorcycles/pseuds/ClodGaysOnMotorcycles
Summary: When the Cluster threatens the world, the Crystal Gems form an unlikely alliance with an alien prince and the revolutionary he keeps as a slave.Set after Episode 1 of Class and Season 1 of Steven Universe.





	1. Kings and Clusters

**Author's Note:**

> I will be honest with y'all here - I wrote this story back when Class came out, then lost interest... so, I'm afraid it probably won't have an ending. Just like Class!
> 
> I'm posting it because my friend wanted to read it. But - everything I do, I do for attention. So, if you like this, let me know! I like this idea so I might write more, or re-draft.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroes are attacked by aliens.

The beginning of Charlie Smith’s Wednesday went according to plan. He got out of his bed with his alarm, took exactly seven minutes in the shower, and had finished breakfast while Quill was still making her coffee.

“Morning!” said Charlie.

“You are unbearable,” said Quill, and took a sip. Coffee was one of the few aspects of Earth that she liked. She could respect anything that was bitter and strong enough to kill a man.

Charlie left for school at 8:15 so as to arrive at 8:30. The reasoning behind this was peculiar, and had taken Charlie a little while to grasp. For his friend-group, being ‘on time’ for school didn’t mean being on time for class itself; it meant arriving half an hour or so before class, to allow time for standing around and just talking.

Sure enough, when he arrived, April and Tanya were gathered by the front wall; April was on her phone, Tanya thumbing through a textbook. He waved hello to April. “Been feeling alright?”

April smirked, a little nervous, and patted her chest to indicate her heart. “Surprisingly okay.”

After what was essentially a prom at the end of the world, April’s heart was linked to the king of the Shadow Kin. Nobody knew how it worked or if she was safe. But, she seemed to be dealing with it surprisingly well. She’d learned how to compartmentalise

Tanya looked up and smiled. “Hey. Sorry, being anti-social. Want to be safe for the maths test.”

April blinked. “Yeah, we do have a maths test, don’t we?”

Tanya laughed. “Good luck. I spent last night giving Ram a bit of a crash course.” She punctuated this with a knowing glance through the crowd outside. Nobody else had spotted him yet, but Ram was coming, flanked by other assembled Cool Kids. As he passed, he nodded to Tanya, then kept walking. Too tough to stop and talk to a 14-year-old in real life, as ever.

* * *

Back at home, Quill had just started to pull her things together for work when she heard a noise from the living room; a rustling, but also a sort of fleshy squelching that her brain couldn’t make sense of.

She sighed. Zero days since our last nonsense.

Cracking open the door a couple of inches, she glimpsed… no, she still couldn’t understand. It was like a mass of limbs mushed together by a toddler. It sat on the ground of the living room, squirming a bit, but apparently not intent on moving.

Quill went back to the kitchen, took up her phone, and rang Charlie.

“Hello, Charlie speaking,” he chirped.

“Get back as soon as you can,” Quill said quietly. “There’s a situation. Flag down a taxi.” And she hung up.

* * *

Charlie looked up. “It was Quill,” he said. “Something’s wrong. She asked me to come back as fast as possible.”

“Then we’ll have to go too,” said April. “No way we’re letting you take on some random alien without backup.” Tanya nodded.

April and Charlie spent most of the few minutes in the taxi arguing about how to split the charge most efficiently. In the end, Tanya just handed the cabbie a ten-pound note to shut them up. They rushed out and burst through the front door.

Quill was standing in the hallway, waiting. She stared. “What are those two here for?”

“We’re here to help,” said Tanya. “Coal Hill Defenders and that.”

Charlie squinted. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” scoffed Quill. “I just needed his Royal Highness to be here so that he could be tangentially under threat.”

April and Tanya frowned in unison.

“I never explained. Those are the rules of her sentence,” Charlie explained. “After her crimes, she was assigned as my protector. Under threat of death, she’s only allowed to use a weapon if I’m in-”

He was cut off by Quill pulling her blaster, bursting through to the sitting room, and firing three shots into the carpet.

She paused a beat, startled. “It was there,” she said.

And the mass of limbs pounced from the ceiling through the doorway onto Charlie. April and Tanya yelped and tried to tear it off, but it already had its grip. Quill took aim, but it was no use; any shot she took now would surely kill Charlie too - so, she wasn’t able to pull the trigger.

Struggling with the mass, Charlie swung around and charged forward into the door frame. On impact, the mass squealed, let go, and dropped to the ground. Immediately, Quill adjusted and fired. There was an animalistic, wounded screech, and a hefty billow of smoke, and it was gone. Three mineral shards clattered to the ground.

“What,” breathed Tanya, “the hell was that?”

“Hard to say,” said Quill as she pocketed her blaster, “and that should worry you, because it means we don’t know if there’s more coming.”

She knelt down and picked up the three shards, looking at them closely. What were these? Surely she could learn something from them. She jerked her head up to April and Tanya.

“Shouldn’t you two be in school by now?”

* * *

 

Off the coast of Beach City USA, a big pink lion bounded across the ocean with a hollering Steven Universe on his back. They were travelling in style.

“That’s it, Lion!” Steven smiled widely. But, it was getting late. Pearl would be worrying about him “Now open a portal!”

Lion understood. As he kept going at full pace, he roared and projected two portals: one on the beach outside the Temple, and one right in front of them. He leapt through, and-

What? His fur bristled.

Steven felt it too. They were going the right direction, but as they passed through, something in the portal felt broken, as if they were walking upstairs and there was one less step than they expected.

They landed on the beach safely. But the portal didn’t close behind them. Lion turned to look at it, focused on it directly, but still it stayed.

Then all at once, out from the portal fell a dark, muscular figure, armoured and jagged. It landed on its hands and knees, and gradually brought itself to its feet; it was at least ten feet.

Steven went a bit pale. But he knew better than to assume the worst of someone straight away. “Hi!” he tried. “I’m Steven! Are you lost?”

The Shadow King eyed Steven’s gem peeking out under his t-shirt. “You’ll do.”

He jerked out his arm and shot a strand of energy toward Steven’s thorax. Steven couldn’t summon his shield in time, but Lion leaped out of the way and took off in a sprint up the incline to the Temple. The Shadow King took after them, but it was slower than Lion’s graceful movements.

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl burst out the front door; they’d heard the commotion. “Steven!” Pearl screeched in a panic.

They all burst down from the balcony like springs from a trap, ready for battle, as Lion brought Steven behind the rocks for cover. Amethyst took her spinball form and zipped forward to nail the Shadow King right in the chest. He stumbled backward as Amethyst kick-flipped away.

But she left herself open; Garnet and Pearl were still a distance away, and she was too slow pulling out her whip. The King shot out another strand of energy, straight into Amethyst’s gem. She cried out in alarm.

Pearl dropped down from above, light sword unsheathed, and struck the King hard on the arm. The King retracted in pain and broke the strand. Pearl span around the King, striking and parrying, and he was able to meet her blow for blow. But he was too preoccupied to see Amethyst swinging her whip back and towards him. It wrapped around his waist once, twice, and quickly cocooned him.

Garnet checked the beach. The portal was still open. Gauntlets at the ready, she swung her fist a few revolutions and burst forward to smack the Shadow King across the beach, one bounce off the sand, and right back neatly into the portal, which sealed behind him.

Steven jumped up from behind the rocks, cheering. “Woo-hoo! You guys were amazing!”

The Gems powered down, tired but smiling. Garnet gave a thumbs-up.

“We try our best,” Pearl smiled graciously, lapping up the praise. “But what on Earth was that thing? You don’t think it had something to do with Peridot and Jasper?”

“We can’t know, since we still haven’t located either of them,” said Garnet, “but I doubt it. It’s not like any Gem I’ve ever seen.”

“It just burst out of Lion’s portal.” said Steven. “We were just hanging out like every Wednesday afternoon after Frybo’s, but when we teleported back to the Temple, the portal wouldn’t close. And then it jumped out.”

Pearl’s brow furrowed. So, something had been affecting the portals. But what? And that creature, whatever it was, had landed a heavy blow on Amethyst. “Are you alright?” she asked her.

“Pssh, yeah,” said Amethyst with a wave of the hand. “That thing looked real nasty, but it hardly even stung. Just felt kinda…”

Her gem pulsed black a moment.

Everyone stared.

Amethyst’s easy expression wavered. “Whuh oh.”


	2. A Mutual Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which an unlikely alliance is formed.

Night had fallen over London. The moon hung over the city, looking like a wet wad found in the pocket of a pair of jeans just out of the washing machine, only extensive inspection of which would reveal whether it used to be a receipt or a ten-pound note. Charlie pulled on his pyjamas, turned off his bedside lamp, and settled into bed.

Cold steel slammed against his face.

A tall, green figure wrestled him out of bed and trapped him underneath her arm, then barged out of the room. He cried out in alarm.

Quill was already blocking the front door, armed, her gaze cold. “Drop him.”

The figure froze a moment, then jumped towards the wall, and onto it. Her feet connected, and she scaled straight upwards. As Quill fired, she leaped away in an arc back down and landed on one hand, walking along on her fingers. Except they weren’t fingers, more like mechanical finger prosthetics.

The door burst open, knocking Quill flat on her face. In came Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. “Peridot!” shouted Pearl. “You’re not getting away this time!”

Peridot gave a little yelp, dropped Charlie, and tried to jump out the window. She smacked against the glass without making a crack and fell to the ground. Amethyst swung her whip and easily cocooned her target. Sneering, Peridot prepared her concentrated blaster and sent a charge along the whip, but Garnet grabbed the coil halfway with her gauntlets and bounced the charge right back.

In a frantic movement, Peridot unrolled herself from Amethyst’s whip and burst out the open front door to make her retreat.

She activated her finger-copter and began to float away, cackling giddily. “You can’t contain me, Crystal Clods!” she squealed. “Nobody can keep pace with the astonishing Peri-”

Her finger-copter cut out.

“What?”

She plummeted from the sky straight onto the roof of a 1960s-style police box.

Out from the box burst what appeared to be a furious Scottish stick insect.

“That’s the problem with being extremely clever,” he called out to Peridot. “It’s easy to assume that everyone else is stupid.”

“You imbecile!” Peridot wailed. “What have you done to my precious limb enhancers?”

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “Basically, I broke them. Sorry.” He was not sorry.

Peridot blanched. Without her limb enhancers, she was-

Too late. Pearl threw her spear like a javelin straight through Peridot’s torso. She whimpered and poofed, leaving her defunct enhancers behind.

Amethyst cackled. “Way to go, P! That almost looked spontaneous.”

“Well,” Pearl smiled coolly, “I can do that stuff too.”

Peridot’s gem had clattered to the ground. The Doctor swept it up and scanned it. “Polymorphic sentient rocks,” he surmised. “Much more advanced than the life on either version of Adamantine. The three of you are rock-forms as well, I take it.”

“We’re the Crystal Gems,” said Garnet, disappearing her gauntlets. “Thanks for your help.”

“I’m the Doctor.”

“A doctor?” said Pearl. “Interesting. What of?”

“Let’s say… cosmological phenomenology. Now, it seems that you’ve forced this enemy of yours into a paralysed state rather than killed it.”

“Yeah, killing’s not really how we do things,” said Amethyst.

Quill scoffed. “Typical liberals.”

The Doctor blinked. “Yes! You!” He pointed at Quill. “You called me. You said you were under threat.”

“Yes,” said Quill, shooting a glare at the gaggle of colourful aliens. “From polymorphic sentient rocks.”

The Gems rounded on her. “Listen,” said Garnet. “We don’t mean any harm.”

“I’m not entirely convinced of that,” Quill spat. “You’re not the first of your kind to break into my house in the last 24 hours. A creature came in this morning and attacked us.”

The Gems shared a look.

“Another gem?” said Pearl. “But that’s not possible. We’ve been the only gems on this planet for millennia.”

“Well, this great big creature made up of about half a dozen arms tried to kill me,” said Quill. “Look.”

She reached into her pocket and placed something into Garnet’s hands: the three gem shards.

“This isn’t right,” said Garnet. “These are all just broken pieces of gems. You say they were all one being?”

Quill nodded. “A strange, corrupted thing.”

Garnet tensed. This had the ring of fusion to it, but it was wrong, all wrong. Were there more gems on Earth, gems they didn't know about? That would be huge. “I don’t understand,” she said uneasily. “We’re missing something here, and I feel like it’s something very bad.”

“Well!” the Doctor exclaimed from behind them. “At least you know why the Green Goblin here came to London.”

“Why’s that?” asked Quill.

“Rocks over here, rocks over there,” said the Doctor. “She must have found out about the attack and thought our Charlie had something of use to her. You’ll have to fill in the blanks for yourself, but you’re more than capable of that. My recommendation would be to stop sulking at each other and work together. Whatever’s afoot here, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

“Then why don’t you stay?” said Quill.

The Doctor laughed on his way in the door to the TARDIS. “I’m sure you can handle it,” he said. “You seem resourceful. Go! Make friends!”

He shut the door, and with a great metallic thrumming, the box faded away.

Amethyst chuckled to herself. “That’s actually pretty cool.”

Charlie peeked out from the front door. “Is anyone trying to kill me?”

Quill sighed. “You’re safe for now. Apparently, we’re expected to be merry little helpers for these rock monsters.”

“Yeah, about that,” said Amethyst. She pulled at the top of her tank to show her gem. It was pulsing dark at regular intervals, like a heartbeat. “You guys know what’s up with this?”

Charlie and Quill both bristled. They recognised the energy; they sensed it in the air, the crackle. It was everywhere when everyone and everything they knew was shattered.

“That’s the Shadowkin,” Charlie breathed.

“You know them?” said Garnet.

“They destroyed our world, our peoples,” said Quill, her voice dark with bitterness. “Don’t let our appearance fool you - we’re as alien to this world as you. Charlie here used to be a Prince.”

“And full disclosure,” Charlie cut in, “Quill here is a terrorist.”

“Revolutionary!”

“She tried to overthrow my family,” Charlie carried on, “so now she’s sentenced to be my protector.”

“Slave,” Quill interjected. “And if I use my weapon for anything other than defending Prince Tiddlywinks, a device in my brain kills me. Slowly, painfully.”

The Gems tensed. “That seems extreme,” said Pearl, her eyes narrowed.

Charlie sighed. “Look, if you’re under threat from the Shadowkin, then it’s doubtlessly in our common interest to deal with them. And we’re the only ones who know the first thing about them. So, wherever it is you come from, we ought to come with you.”

Quill shot a look at him. “So we’re just suddenly disappearing because you decided as much?”

“Well, what would you do?”

Quill paused. “Well, if the Shadowkin are in play again, I would have to-”

“No, that was a rhetorical question,” said Charlie. “Is that how you do those? I haven’t quite got the knack yet.”

Pearl coughed pointedly. “We have a couple of couches for you to sleep on, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Once Charlie and Quill packed a few things, the Gems led them to a nearby park. The party gathered onto a large octagonal platform, like an open-top gazebo.

“Wherever you’re leading us, this seems a roundabout route,” Quill muttered.

Garnet smiled and activated the pad. A beam of blue light shot up from the gazebo into the sky, wrapping all around them. They flew upwards a few seconds, Charlie and Quill flailing, and landed in the Temple.

Charlie exhaled mightily as he found his footing again. “This must be a Wednesday,” he said. “I could never get the hang of Wednesdays.”

* * *

 

Water cascaded this way and that. As she manoeuvred through her room, Pearl’s every move was still precise and poised, but her heart wasn’t in it.

Some thirteen years had passed. She should have moved on by now. She was being stupid.

She came to the top of her liquid platform and rested for a little while. Maybe if she just tried to clear her mind, this could stop for a moment. She took a few deep breaths.

There was a great crack of stone and wooden rushing. Pearl swerved around. “Who’s there?”

A root extended from the ceiling down to just before her. At the tip was a great figure, candy-floss and kindness, her eyes bright and gentle.

Pearl started. “Rose?”


	3. Isn't It Over?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pearl sees a ghost.

Quill turned over in her sleeping bag again. This was not dignified, she thought.

Amethyst took a carton of eggs out of the fridge, set the eggs aside, and ate the carton. “Hey, Charlie,” she said with her mouth full. “Want some eggs? I think you might have to cook ‘em or something.”

From his sleeping bag on the couch, Charlie chuckled. “I’m fine, thank you. I’m set up here.” The couch wasn’t quite what he was used to, and that was annoying. He finished typing up his message to Matteusz:

_Going to be out of town for a little while. Something to do with the alien that attacked us this morning. I’ll be fine. Hope to be back soon. -C_

That would do, probably. He didn’t want him to worry too much.

Amethyst peeked over his shoulder. “Who ya textin’?”

Charlie hid the screen and laughed nervously. “Just someone I’m seeing.”

“N’awww.”

Quill rolled her eyes into the back of her skull. “I’m actually going to vomit.”

“Don’t mind her,” Charlie smiled. “She says that anytime someone shows a positive emotion.”

Then he saw a flicker of colour across the room: two figures.

He jumped up. The figures disappeared, and there was a wooden snap and slither as branches retracted under the door into the temple.

They all stared, shocked for a moment.

“Uh, did you see that too?” said Amethyst.

“We have to get in, right away,” said Charlie. “Those were my parents.”

His parents… could it be real?

“What?! What are your parents doing here?”

“That’s just the thing,” said Charlie. “They’re dead. They died quite some time ago, along with the rest of my planet.”

And seeing them - it brought it all rushing back.

“Yeesh. Tough going, buddy.”

“Something’s afoot in that temple, and we have to find out what as soon as possible.”

“But hang on,” said Quill. “That didn’t look anything like the Shadowkin or the Cluster. What’s going on that we’ve been hit out of nowhere by three different kinds of aliens in a day?”

Amethyst ran up and opened the Temple door with a flash of purple. “Whatever it is, you’d better get out of bed.”

They went through the door into Amethyst’s room, which was essentially a large pile of garbage at the foot of a waterfall.

Charlie and Quill gaped around at the massive space inside. It seemed to stretch upward for miles. Water rushed down from the purple cliff faces all around them.

“This,” said Charlie, “is a lot.”

Quill pointed out an archipelago of floating islands nearby. “I didn’t realise Earth had that kind of thing,” she said.

Amethyst chuckled, her pinkie now lodged up her nose. “Yeah, you have to know where to look. C’mon!”

She guided them across the islands - Charlie needed a little help - to a tunnel in the far wall, which led through a tall room with a huge stalk running through its centre.

“Don’t worry, this is normal,” said Amethyst as she led them downstairs. “This is part of the heart of the Temple. We hardly ever have to use this part, but Pearl set up a thing that lets you see all the rooms at once.”

Sure enough, there was a console that ran all the way around the stalk. Amethyst ran up to it, then faltered. “Uh.” She jabbed a few buttons at random, and the console powered up. Screens showed each of the dozens of rooms.

“There it is,” Quill pointed to a feed of Pearl’s room. It was… she looked closer. What was it?

* * *

 

A thick vine extended from high up on the wall down to meet Pearl, and at the tip was what appeared to be Rose Quartz.

Pearl swallowed, holding back tears. “I know it’s not you,” she said, trying to regain composure. “This is clearly some sort of trap.”

“Pearl, I remember,” said Rose. “I remember all the sacrifices you made for me. I remember what we shared.” She reached out a hand. “I’ve missed you.”

Pearl trembled, but she put on a smug smile. “I don’t recall Rose Quartz having a twenty-foot vine in her neck.”

Rose laughed, and oh, Pearl had missed that laugh. “I should explain,” she said. “It’s a creature called the Lan Kin. Sometimes, when people die, it takes what makes them who they are and soaks it up into one big consciousness. It’s like you’re constantly with other people. Like fusion, really.” She beckoned with her hand again, a little more urgently; her blinking was audible. “I know I’m asking you to leave a lot behind, but you’ve done a beautiful job of raising Steven. He’ll be fine. Come with me.”

Pearl faltered.

Amethyst was fuming. “That is way not okay!” she cried out. “These monsters can try to kill us all they want, but that’s below the belt. We gotta do something.”

“That might be a bit tricky,” Quill breathed. She indicated a feed of outside the Temple. Amethyst and Charlie glanced at it, then took a step back.

This was a much bigger problem than they’d realised.

Beach City was being eaten alive.

Vines seemed to have broken into every building. They extended from block to block like telephone lines. They were thick enough that the source wasn’t even clear.

“It must be doing this to everyone,” said Charlie. “Making an illusion of their dead loved ones as bait. That’s why I saw my parents; it couldn’t sustain the illusion because we weren’t very close.”

“And me and Garnet didn’t get one because it’d be Rose for us too,” said Amethyst. “And if you’re gonna bait someone with Rose, why waste time with anyone other than…” She punched the console in frustration. The clang echoed around the room.

“Rock thing,” Quill barked.

“It’s Amethyst, dude.”

“That’s not a person name. That’s a rock name. Whatever you can do to kill this creature, do it quick. You seem to have a pretty huge energy source in the heart of this Temple. I’d recommend weaponising it.”

“But I barely knew how to turn this thing on!” said Amethyst. “Pearl’s the only one who knew anything about Gem techno-”

She stopped.

“There’s Peridot,” she sighed. “She’s straight from the Gem Homeworld, and she knows everything there is to know about their tech. But she just tried to kill us!”

Charlie sighed. “If there’s a way to restore her to her original form, I can try to reason with her.”

“Nuh-uh, buddy,” said Amethyst. “It took us months to track her down. I’m not gonna risk letting her go. Besides, she’s obsessed with Homeworld. There’s no way you can even talk to her.”

“I used to be a diplomat, you know,” said Charlie. “Bargaining with this Peridot is the only chance we have of saving your friend. Will you bring me to her?”

Amethyst cringed and looked at the screen. Pearl had been standing there for a few minutes now, entirely still, just staring at this vision of Rose.

“Yeah, fine,” she sighed. “Pearl’s… I get mad at her, but I couldn’t… yeah. Whatever it takes, I gotta do it.” She shook herself. Time for action. “If we’re bringing Peridot out of her gem, we gotta go get Steven.”

* * *

 

The bubbled gems were kept in a room deep in the Temple, like a wide underground stadium. They all floated in the air like constellations. Steven, Amethyst, and Charlie made their way down the stairs - Quill was guarding the console.

Steven was worried. “Is Pearl still okay? We’re not too late, are we?”

“She’ll be okay,” said Amethyst, but her voice was hollow. Once again, she felt like she and the Gems had no idea how to look after Steven. And look at this mess - just another life-or-death situation they’d dragged him into.

With a gesture, she summoned Peridot’s bubbled gem into her hand, popped it, and tossed it to Steven. “You sure this is gonna work?”

“We have to try,” said Steven with a determined little face. “I think Peridot will help if we say the right thing.”

Amethyst smiled. “Well, you’re good at that. And I trust you more than Prince Charlie the kind-of slave owner over here.”

“I did actually hear that.”

“Yuh-huh.”

Steven nodded, licked his hand, and slapped the spittle onto Peridot’s gem. It glowed bright on contact, floated out of his hand, hard light began to take form around it, and Peridot was back in a flail of limbs.

“-defenceless!” she cried out. She stopped and looked around her. Then she looked at her limbs: tiny and unarmed. “I,” she stammered, “I’m…”

“You’re cute!” Steven exclaimed in joy.

“I’m not cute!” Peridot screeched. “I’m a serious threat to your species, you clueless mega-clods!”

Charlie sighed. “This isn’t going to be easy.”

 


	4. Weeding the Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Charlie appeals to Peridot to turn over a new leaf.

Peridot tried to overpower Steven by slapping him a few times, but to no avail. She tried to make a daring escape, but Amethyst kept whipping her and pulling her back. So she ran over to the other side of the room and curled up in a ball and sulked and grumbled and gave out.

Amethyst looked up to Charlie. “You’re up, buddy. Better make this work.”

Charlie rubbed his hands together, exhaled nervously, and made the walk across to Peridot. “Excuse me?”

Peridot didn’t turn around. “What do you want?”

“My name’s Charlie.”

Silence.

Charlie tried a different angle. “Look, these Crystal Gems, I’m working with them, but I’m not one of them. What conflict do you have?”

“They’re traitors!” Peridot snapped. “Traitors to Homeworld and to the Diamonds! Followers of Rose Quartz, who led the uprising!”

Charlie frowned. Rose… wasn’t that the woman the Lan Kin were imitating? So, he’d fallen in with terrorists. That wouldn’t do.

“Listen,” he said, lowering his voice. “I didn’t know who these people were. I’m only working with them for my own ends. I don’t like these kind of people.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Peridot snorted.

“Honestly. I used to come from a great civilisation in the stars.”

Peridot looked around. “Oh?”

“I know these kind of uprisings are dangerous, and I take them seriously,” said Charlie. “If you’re taking a stand for your leaders, then that’s admirable, and I’d like to help.”

Peridot’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?” she said almost entirely through her nose.

He laughed. “Well, the Gems would like you to help them with a small thing in return. One of their number is in peril, and your knowledge of gem technology could save her.”

Peridot smiled, happy to have an opportunity to brag. “Well, it’s true that I’m an expert. Far more so than any of those traitors. So, say that I do help. Would you be able to get me off-planet?”

“I have a friend who could do that,” Charlie smiled. “While I’m talking to you… this is an odd question, but why did you try to kidnap me?"

Peridot snorted. “I thought you might know something about Gem civilisation, but I suppose that attack by the Cluster was just random.”

Charlie did a double-take. “What do you know about the Cluster?”

“This is why I have to get off-planet!” Peridot exclaimed. “This planet used to be a Gem colony, and Yellow Diamond planted a cluster of gem shards into the world’s core. In a matter of Earth-months, they’re going to take form and expand massively!”

“Are we talking as big as the planet itself?”

“Goodness no, much bigger than that. And then Yellow Diamond will have her geo-weapon as planned. But you see that I have to get off-planet as soon as possible.”

Charlie’s eyes were wide. “I’m… sure I can organise that. But you have to carry out your end of the bargain first.”

Peridot stood and dashed back across the room to Steven and Amethyst. “Greetings, Crystal Cl… Gems,” she said, a little strained. “In return for safe passage from this planet, I have agreed to-”

“What?!” Amethyst exclaimed, and rounded on Charlie. “You said we’d let her go?”

She quickly spotted Peridot’s alarm, and pieced it together. This had to happen, for Pearl’s sake.

“I mean,” she said, “way to go, Charlie! I didn’t think you’d be able to pull it off.”

Peridot frowned, but shrugged it off. “Guide me to the apparatus.”

Outside the Temple, a thick mass of vines was growing. The root was set into the cliff-side and extending its limbs across the town. The Lan Kin was gaining power. The imitation of Rose still stood before Pearl. She’d been holding her hand out for a long time now, but showed no sign of tiring.

“Pearl,” said Rose. “Please come home.”

Pearl still couldn’t tear herself away. She could hardly bear it.

At the heart of the Temple, Peridot easily activated the console and set to work building a charge.

All at once, Pearl stepped forward and took Rose’s hand.

Amethyst and Steven cried out in shock. Light grew between them, and Rose smiled, only a little, but darkly.

“You know,” Rose said, “in all my life, I’ve never found a planet so addicted to closure.”

And then, the tide turned.

The passage of energy turned on its head.

Rose was taken aback and tried to pull away, but Pearl had her caught. Her gaze was cold steel as she streamed energy into the Lan Kin.

“I’ve worked hard to claw back a life for myself,” said Pearl, her voice echoing. “I won’t let you feed on that.”

Above them, a sphere of energy popped into being and built and built. Peridot’s plan was working. Pearl gave one last push against Rose, flinging her back, and Peridot slammed the charge into her. The shock travelled across all the vines in all the town, and they retracted in pain, all slithering at once back into the root in the cliff-side.

The mimic of Rose sharply retracted into a pink crumple and back into the ceiling.

Quill stuck her head around the doorway to the heart chamber, a cup of coffee in her hand. “Oh, you handled that, then?”

* * *

 Everyone had gathered outside the house to look at the cliff face that the Lan Kin was consuming only minutes ago. Now, it was spick and span. Even Pearl had wandered out, though she looked dead behind the eyes.

Then she blinked and stared at Peridot.

“Uh, yeah,” said Amethyst. “We kinda struck a deal. Peridot just saved your life.”

“I see you’re the Pearl I saved,” Peridot mewed. “No need to thank me. I’m just doing what any decent Gem would have done.”

Pearl stared, still fazed.

“I do believe in occasionally reaching across ideological divides,” Peridot said smugly, glowing. “And while it would be facetious to claim we are of equal-”

“What are you doing out of your bubble?!” Pearl spluttered.

Peridot was taken aback. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We came to an agreement. Here, I’ll let your friends explain.”

Charlie smiled, a little sheepishly. “Well.”

Amethyst grinned nervously. “Uh.”

Pearl glowered. “I don’t care what these two said,” she snaps. “It took long enough to capture you. We won’t let you get away!” She drew her spear from her gem.

“Nyahhh!” nyahhhed Peridot, and she ran away.

Steven leaped between them, arms outstretched. “Pearl, don’t!” he cried. “She just saved you, this could be our chance to-”

Pearl tossed her spear like a javelin over Steven’s head and toward Peridot, but Charlie leaped in its path and grabbed it out of the air.

Pearl started. “What is this?”

Charlie met her gaze. It wasn’t often that he showed himself to be a prince who had seen combat. “This being has done no wrong. You will not harm it.”

“No wrong?” Pearl snapped. “Do you realise how many times she’s tried to kill us?”

He clutched the spear.

“Perhaps, then, I’ve made a poor choice of allies.”

He rushed forward, spear at the ready, but Pearl easily dodged and tore the spear from his hands. She swung it around and made to strike, but she was blown backwards out of nowhere. She slammed against the wall and poofed, her gem clattering to the floorboards.

From the door, Quill stood, her blaster smoking.

Amethyst stood still, torn. “Why the heck are you on his side?!”

Quill’s expression was bitter. “As I’ve said, I scarcely have a choice in the matter.”

Charlie smiled, a little smugly. “And Amethyst,” he said, “if you don’t want the same to happen to you, then you’ll let us leave.”

Amethyst stared up at him, baffled. “I don’t get it,” she said. “You seemed alright.”

Peridot quietly scuttled up to the warp pad. Charlie looked behind her, then paused to look back at Amethyst.

“So did you.”

He stood onto the warp pad, and Peridot took them away in a flash.


	5. Past the Last Exit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Crystal Gems begin afresh their search for the escaped Peridot, who brings Charlie to the Kindergarten.

By the next morning, Pearl had come back to life with a little help from Steven’s powers. She was furious. The Gems had assembled in the living room. Garnet and Amethyst took the couch while Steven and Pearl stood, both restless.

“I just can’t believe you would do that,” she said, fifteen minutes into a lecture to a despondent Steven. “We spent months trying to capture Peridot. Don’t you take that seriously?”

“Of course I do!” said Steven. “It’s just, we had to do something, and I didn’t think she would get away.”

“Well, she did,” said Pearl. “You know, I thought you were old enough to be coming on missions with us, but if this is the way you’re going to behave, we’ll have to seriously reconsider.”

“Hey, ease off,” said Amethyst. “It’s not really his fault. I was-” She faltered. “I was there too. I should have known better, I guess.”

Pearl rounded onto Amethyst. “Yes, you should have. What on Earth were you thinking?”

Amethyst faltered. “You were gonna die, P,” she said, her voice quiet and a little broken.

Pearl looked away. “Well.” She didn’t really have an answer to that.

“Look,” said Garnet, speaking at last. “Whatever happened last night, the fact is that Peridot is on the loose again. She doesn’t have her limb enhancers, so catching her will be much easier. And Charlie doesn’t seem like he can hold his own against us so long as we work together as a team.”

Pearl nodded. “Yes. You’re right. Although, there is the other matter.”

“Is that a reference to me?” said Quill from the kitchen. “Because I certainly won’t get in your way for the time being.”

“Don’t you have that thing in your brain?” said Amethyst.

“If you try to harm or capture the boy while I’m around, then I’ll be obligated to defend him, yes,” said Quill. “But outside of that, I’m happy to help. I’d like to see the little prince taken care of.”

“We don’t kill, to be clear,” said Garnet. “So we’re certainly not going to kill him.”

“Suit yourselves,” said Quill. “I’ll help if I can, although I don’t see how I could.”

“Part of our work is recovering corrupted Gems from around the world,” said Pearl. “If you could assist with that, it would save us all time.”

“Fine, so.”

“No time to waste, then!” said Pearl. She took a thick, woolly jacket from the cupboard and gave it to Quill. “You’ll need this.”

“Why?”

“Because your species is made of flesh and bone rather than light, so you are susceptible to damage in extreme temperatures,” said Pearl as she walked up the steps to the warp pad. “Join me when you’re ready.”

“That sounds promising,” Quill muttered. She finished off her coffee, pulled on the jacket, and joined Pearl on the pad. A flash of blue, and they were gone.

* * *

 And they were in snow. Mountains and fog stretched out for miles around them, and stone ruins dotted the landscape. It was the Great North.

Quill was immediately freezing. The jacket dwarfed her frame and made her look ridiculous, but she was glad of it. “So what exactly does this entail?”

“We search the area and look for signs of the corrupted Gem,” said Pearl. “It takes the form of some kind of monster. You’ll certainly know it when you see it.”

They started making their way through the snow. It was tough going, but they were both made of stern stuff.

“What are all these ruins anyway?” said Quill. “They don’t look like typical human architecture.”

“These are ruins of the old Gem civilisation that used to be based on Earth,” said Pearl. “The humans never found it, and if they did, they’d probably think it was one of their own ancient civilisations, like the Incans. All the old temples were destroyed during the war.”

“What war is this?”

“Between the empire of the Gem Homeworld against the rebels, the Crystal Gems,” said Pearl, a little wistfully. “That’s us. I was there. I served under our brilliant leader, Rose Quartz.”

“Is that the woman that the Lan Kin took the form of?”

Pearl flinched. “Is that what that creature was called?”

Quill nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t seem the sorry type,” Pearl said a little snidely.

“I’m usually not,” said Quill. “But she obviously meant a lot to you. And while you lot seem a bit odd, anyone who takes up arms against an empire is alright in my book.”

Pearl looked at Quill. “I think it’s disgusting, by the way. That you fought against a monarchy for freedom, and now you have a device in your head that can kill you at any moment. Forced to serve the ones you fought against.”

Quill didn’t smile, but her eyes lightened. “It’s pretty rare that someone around here gets it.”

* * *

 Wind whistled through the ravines between the sheer, dark cliff faces. There was no life to be seen anymore at the Prime Kindergarten, or so it seemed.

In a flash from the warp pad, Peridot and Charlie arrived.

“Alright,” said Peridot, collecting her senses. “It seems, unexpectedly, we are now a team. I’m optimistic this can work, though! We have similar value systems. Now, as you are of the royal family of your home planet, it only makes sense to designate you leader.”

“Quite right,” said Charlie, glowing a little. It had been a long time since someone had called him by his proper title. “Now, where have you brought me?”

“This is the Alpha Kindergarten, my Prince,” Peridot beamed, glad to have a place in a team that she was used to again. It felt like a small piece of home. “Before the Homeworld settlement on this planet was destroyed by those rebels, this was where we manufactured new soldiers. Gems grew right out of the ground.”

Charlie looked around the holes in the cliff faces. “Fascinating,” he breathed.

“I’ve studied this subject,” Peridot said, hopping up and down in excitement. “Originally, I was actually sent to check on the Cluster from this Kindergarten.”

“Yes, about that,” said Charlie. “You say that this Cluster is poised to destroy the Earth?”

“Yes! So that the Homeworld matriarch Yellow Diamond can have her geo-weapon!” Peridot squealed. “It’s terribly exciting. She’s the greatest, most supreme and perfect rationaliser in the cosmos!”

After saying that, she wondered if she should have said that to her new team leader.

“Perhaps,” said Charlie. “But I would not like to see this planet destroyed. There is good here. There are many innocent people.”

Peridot scoffed. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Earth saying about making an omelet?”

“I don’t believe it would be worth it. I too have ways of sacrificing this planet for my own ends, but I choose not to. It’s too much to sacrifice.”

Peridot wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”

“That’s not for you to know.”

Peridot fixed her posture. “Of course, my Prince!” she barked, instinctively making a Diamond salute. Then she looked at her arms and considered. “But please understand that my first allegiance is to my Diamond, my Prince!”

“Ally yourself with who you will,” said Charlie darkly. “I will not let down my end of the bargain. I will get you off-planet. But I won’t stand idly by and allow this planet to be destroyed, and I doubt you could stand in my way.”

Peridot sneered. “I don’t feel the need to,” she said. “There’s nothing you can do.”

Charlie sighed, took out his phone, and called his interstellar friend.

“Hello, this is Doctor Disco,” said a Scottish accent on the line.

“Doctor,” said Charlie, “I have a request.”

“Really? Having trouble with that rift again?”

“No, it’s not that,” said Charlie. “A little alien has found her own way here by her own means, and now she’s stranded. She’d very much appreciate if you could give her a lift home.”

“No.”

Charlie blinked. “What?”

“No,” said the phone. “The TARDIS is not your taxi. There are plenty of ways to get off-world if you go looking. Call NASA, or Stephen Hawking, or Russia, or the Pope, or some other alien with a better reputation for suffering fools gladly. And if none of that works, call your phone network and urgently try to convince them to cancel your bill.”

“Doctor, I’m serious.”

“So am I! Do you think I have nothing better to do than go around saving people?”

“I mean, everyone knows the stories about you.”

“I try to be kind - but I can’t solve everyone’s problems all the time. I’m not your nan. Look, who is this friend of yours anyway?”

“She calls herself Peridot. She’s from somewhere called the Gem Homeworld.”

A sharp intake of breath. “Ohhhh, the Gem Homeworld? I’ve heard of those, of course I’ve heard of those. Never met them personally, but they’re very lucky I haven’t stepped in and twisted their noses yet. No better than the Daleks or the Cybermen, as far as I’m concerned.”

“But look, this thing is totally harmless,” Charlie insisted. “I think she’s the equivalent of human resources or something. Surely you can spare a few minutes?”

“Not for her type,” said the Doctor, and the line cut.

Charlie sighed and turned to face Peridot. She was scowling; she’d already heard. “In future,” she grumbled, “don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She skulked away, loudly delivering a soliloquy. “Once again, the genius Peridot is failed by the clods around her!”


	6. Communications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Peridot and Amethyst face off.

Underground in the Kindergarten, Peridot looked over the screens. The Cluster was developing on schedule, which was now bad news. She’d have to find a way off-planet, and fast.

She pondered as the elevator whirred and brought her towards ground level. If she recalled correctly, a Homeworld Communication Hub was accessible via warp pad.

The elevator clicked onto ground level and brought her face to face with Amethyst.

Peridot stared at Amethyst.

Amethyst stared at Peridot.

“Is there anyone else?” Peridot hissed quietly.

“Don’t need anyone else,” Amethyst grinned. She pulled out her whip and had Peridot tied up in a flash.

“Wait!” Peridot squealed as she flopped to the ground. “This isn’t fair! We had a deal!”

Amethyst sat on top of Peridot’s torso to keep her from wriggling. “Yeah, my bad,” she said, a little too casually, overcompensating. “Wasn’t my decision to make. If you got back to Homeworld, you’d tell everyone we’re still here, and then we’re toast.”

“I wouldn’t!” Peridot insisted. “You’ve let me free. I’m in your debt. I may be loyal to my Diamond but I do have some sense of honour, you know.”

“Yeah, right,” Amethyst drawled. “Why should I believe you?”

“Haven’t I earned this? I saved your Pearl.”

Amethyst softened. “Yeah, I guess you did. And I guess that’s why I haven’t already poofed and bubbled you.”

She sighed and stood up off of Peridot; the smaller gem gasped for breath.

“I don’t wanna go back on my word,” said Amethyst. She jerked the handle of her whip, and the whole thing unravelled.

Peridot landed on her hands and knees. “So, uh,” she stammered, “what exactly does this mean?”

“I dunno,” Amethyst shrugged, obviously frustrated with herself. “Just. Don’t go causing trouble, and you’ll be safe. If Garnet or Pearl find you, I won’t stop them.”

“Of course,” Peridot said quickly. “Of course of course. Thank you.”

Charlie peeked out from behind a boulder. “Hello! It’s me, Charlie.”

Amethyst glared at him, gripping her coiled whip in both hands. Peridot smirked. After Charlie had so spectacularly failed to assist her, this could be fun to watch.

“Uh, hello, yes,” said Charlie. “It’s just, there’s this business with the Cluster, you know? I know more about it now. And as the Doctor said, you’ll need all the help you can get. So I thought I might come back and help.”

“Nah,” said Amethyst.

“What?”

“Nah.”

“I’m getting very tired of people turning down my entirely reasonable ideas.”

“Don’t worry, I get it,” said Amethyst with a grin. “You don’t wanna work with us. That’s why you ran off. And that’s fair. I won’t force you to.”

“Well, it’s just that I’m a little bit stranded out here.”

“It’s cool,” said Amethyst. “I won’t force you to.”

“He’d be of much more use out here anyway!” Peridot said gleefully. “I need some muscle to clear the debris that’s accumulated here over the years.”

“Well, there you go!” said Amethyst. “We’ve finally found a use for you, your Highness.”

She turned away from a despairing Charlie to shoot Peridot a wink. “Give him Hell,” she whispered. “It’s long overdue.”

Peridot cackled to herself. This was the kind of anti-authoritarianism she could get behind - the extremely petty type.

Amethyst made for the warp pad and gave Peridot a thumbs up. “Don’t make me regret this,” she said, but she was smiling.

And she was gone.

Peridot turned to face Charlie. “This is a turn-up for the books,” she mewed. “A Peridot with her own escort! Please take the elevator and start clearing the debris from the second monitor. I have other business to attend to.”

Defeated, Charlie made his way to the elevator. “Nobody respects the monarchy these days,” he grumbled.

Peridot rubbed her hands together and cackled. What a delight! Now, it was time to get to work. She made her way to the warp pad and flashed across to another location.

* * *

 The Communication Hub was intact and functional. The construction stretched up into the cloudless blue sky, sheer and shiny, an immense object towering over all.

She scrambled inside, cooing at the splendour as she passed it. The technology was ancient, but she grappled with the touch screens until she was able to record a message for the cosmos.

“This is Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG,” she said to the camera. “I’m stranded on Crystal System Colony Planet Earth. The Gem Warship I arrived on has been destroyed, and my escort Jasper has gone missing. The Cluster is due to form soon. If Yellow Diamond or- or anyone at all can hear me, please, send help!”

That was all she could do for the time being. She left the Hub and made her way back to the warp pad.

As she travelled through the slipstream, she collided with another form and they both tumbled out of the intermediary dimension into the Kindergarten. Peridot groaned, rubbing her head, and looked up to see Amethyst on the pad next to her.

“That was fun,” she laughed. “Hey, sorry. I know I just left. But I just thought, since you owe me big time now, you’re gonna have to tell me everything you know about this.” She pulled down on her tank top to show her gem, which was still pulsing dark. “I know you know all about gemetics and that dorky stuff.”

“Uh, okay,” said Peridot. She looked at the gem. “This is fascinating. Did something attack you?”

“Uh, yeah. See, Steven has a lion? And that lion can make portals.”

Peridot blinked. “I see.”

“And yesterday, on top of everything else that happened, a big scary dude falls out of one of the portals. Completely randomly. Nothing like that’s ever happened before.”

Peridot stood. “I have an idea,” she said. “Step off the pad.”

Amethyst rolled off the pad onto her stomach, and Peridot beamed away. In the stream, she paused, hovered, and carefully scooted closer to the edge. She stuck her head out to look outside.

“Oh, woe,” she breathed. “My suspicions are confirmed.”

In the intermediary dimension, a fissure was running through some of the streams and tangling them. Everything was getting mixed up.

She pulled her head back into the stream and beamed back down to the Kindergarten. This was trouble.

“It’s precisely as I feared,” she said to Amethyst. “Some clod’s gotten hold of a time machine. As they’ve darted back and forth across time and space in the wrong order, they’ve tried to stitch up the scars behind them, but they’ve done an imperfect job. Now everything is disorganised and faulty!”

“Time machine, eh?” said Amethyst. “Probably the dude with the blue box.”

“The one who disabled my limb enhancers and wouldn’t bring me to Homeworld?” Peridot sniffed. “Yes, I’m developing a poor opinion of him. If I could get a hold of that spaceship, whatever it is, I’m certain I could solve this whole situation. Then we’d only have to deal with the enormous geo-weapon at the heart of the planet.” She looked down at Amethyst’s gem. “Tell me about the creature that attacked you.”

“Huge, shadowy guy. Lots of armour. Growled a lot.”

“Based on my studies of this kind of energy, it can only be the Shadowkin,” said Peridot. “Their energies are very distinctive and although they have never threatened Homeworld, they are significant enough to be well-known to intellectuals such as I.”

“Lonely night in a library?”

“This is really very interesting,” said Peridot, not answering the question. “It’s a phenomenon that has previously existed only in theory. It does, however, place you in danger. The dark pulse is your gem’s response to being twinned with a Shadowkin. Essentially, you now share your gem with the creature, and equally, you are co-owner of the creature’s heart.”

Amethyst stared, panicked. “But it’s my gem!” she wailed. “It’s mine!”

“Don’t panic!” Peridot said. “I’m sure there’s something that can be done. I just… can’t imagine what it would be.”

“I hate this,” said Amethyst, clawing at her gem. “I hate this gross shadow thing.” She slumped down on the ground, her skin crawling in discomfort.

Peridot softened. She hopped down from the warp pad and sat beside Amethyst. “Listen,” she said. “Uh, as I’ve said, there’s little I can do. But if you need help, I will do what I can.”

Amethyst gave up and slumped. “Why do you care?”

“I just feel it would be a pointless waste of an excellent Gem.”

“I’m not an excellent Gem,” Amethyst said quietly. She pointed across the ravine to a hole in the cliff face, smaller than the others. “Look. That’s me. That’s where I came from. I formed too low, so I came out too small.”

Peridot scoffed. “Be that as it may, you’re still a Prime Kindergartner. Gemetically speaking, that’s impressive no matter the luck you were dealt.”

Amethyst looked up. Nobody had told her that before.

“And speaking more personally, I appreciate that you’re giving me a chance,” said Peridot, looking away out of nerves. “Very few people look across enemy lines with empathy in mind. I suppose I have something to learn from you. Certainly, I’d consider you the best of the Crystal Gems.”

Amethyst grinned, blushing a little. “Now you’re just saying stuff ‘cause you wanna stay alive.”

“I’m not,” said Peridot, and she turned to look at her. “Really. You’re good, and I’d like to help you.”

Peridot laid a hand on Amethyst’s gem and watched it pulse under her fingers. The pulse seemed to ease as they calmed together.

Then there was a gentle glow, and from Peridot’s gem too. They were both startled; this was entirely accidental. But Amethyst started to laugh, and it was a real happy laugh from the belly, and Peridot couldn’t help but laugh too. She thought fusion was mostly a combat tactic, but this felt really nice.

Amethyst sat up and pulled Peridot into a tight embrace, and the glow overtook them.


	7. Heart the Size of a Fist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Amethyst makes an important choice.

Charlie popped up from underground on the elevator, still annoyed, his arms full of rubble.

Out from behind a corner burst a ten-foot figure, grinning widely. “Hey there, your Majesty! You’re the lucky first witness to the great and majestic Fluorite!”

Charlie boggled. “What? Who?”

Fluorite had navy skin and four arms, a slick visor, a purple-black jumpsuit with an angular pattern, a bit of chub, and fluffy white-blond hair that shot up like a pyramid. Peridot’s gem gleamed from her forehead, while Amethyst’s continued pulsing darkly from the chest.

“Don’t worry,” she grinned widely, two limbs splayed out in an exaggerated shrug. “It makes total sense that you’d be left totally speechless.”

“Where the hell are Peridot and Amethyst?” Charlie blurted. “Have you done something to them?”

“You could say that,” said Fluorite. “Fusion, kid! It’s a neat little trick that Gems can do. Supposedly, it’s to make weak gems stronger.” She cracked out her whip. “Personally, I just think it’s a whole lotta fun to be here.”

She cracked her whip upwards and caught one of the huge rigs mounted onto the cliff. Pulling back, she tore off one of the beams, then started to levitate it around in quick revolutions.

“I can move metal too, by the way,” she smiled widely.

There was a burst of blue light from the warp pad as someone arrived: Pearl.

Everyone froze.

“Well,” said Fluorite coldly. “Hello. Have we met?”

Pearl stared. “No, oddly enough, we haven’t. You’re some sort of fusion. But who of?”

“None of your business.”

“It’s Peridot and Amethyst,” Charlie piped up.

“It’s what?!” Pearl screeched.

Fluorite glowered. “Nicely done, your highness. There was no need for that.”

Charlie gestured in exasperation. “I’m at a loss here. Please, Crystal Gems, capture and imprison me. You at least seem nicer than my current captors.”

“Quiet, you!” Pearl snapped. “Amethyst, what on Earth are you playing at?”

Fluorite glared at her. “It’s complicated,” she said through gritted teeth, “and y’know, I don’t really feel like explaining it to you. So back off.”

She cracked her whip back up, connected with the rig, and swung back downward to summon the structure toward the ground. Charlie dived back towards the elevator for cover underground. As the structure plummeted toward her, Pearl saw no way out.

Fluorite grinned. “Not much that tactics can do against sheer strength, right? No amount of sharp shooting can overcome the majestic and powerful Fl-”

Pearl tossed her light spear, and it caught Fluorite right between the eyes. She yelped and unfused as the rig crashed to the ground.

Peridot got to her feet fast as the smoke cleared. She was in pain, but Peridots were tough to poof.

Pearl clambered out from underneath the rig. She’d narrowly avoided getting crushed, but she was winded and bruised. She looked around.

From nowhere, Amethyst grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. In a swift motion, she twisted Pearl’s arm until she dropped her sword, then tossed it aside.

“Listen, P,” said Amethyst darkly. “We’ve talked about this before. You can’t just treat me like a little kid and tell me what to do.”

“Amethyst, we’re not supposed to-”

“No, I’m talking,” said Amethyst, and there was a sword in her hand. Why was there a sword in her hand? “I can make my own judgements. Peridot and I made a deal, and it’s working. She’s not on our side, but she’s working with me, and we can at least kind of trust her now, and- and I’m not having you trap her in her gem and shove her in the basement like all the others, okay? She’s not corrupted. She’s a person.”

“But she’ll tell Homeworld we’re here,” Pearl said, her throat tight. “If they come to Earth, we’ll never stand a chance.”

“I told you I dealt with it, didn’t I?” Amethyst growled. “You never take me seriously. You never-”

“Amethyst, wait!”

Amethyst looked around, not letting go of Pearl. It was Peridot, stumbling through the smoke.

“I just want to say,” she panted, “you might not want to do that.”

“There’s a lot you haven’t seen,” said Amethyst. “You don’t know what I want.”

“Maybe so,” said Peridot. “Don’t misunderstand, I’m not overly concerned for a mere Pearl. She’s already lucky to be alive.”

Pearl seemed especially peeved by this.

“The only reason I object,” said Peridot, “is that your actions and words up to this point suggest that you’re sentimental for the Pearl. If you were to do what I believe you’re about to do, you could later regret it. And I’d, uh,” she said a little sheepishly, “rather you didn’t feel bad.”

Amethyst paused and mulled this over. Then she threw Pearl backward into the ground. “Count yourself lucky.”

Pearl stared up at Amethyst, aghast. “I really won’t.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes and turned to Peridot. She held up the sword. “This isn’t from the fusion,” she said. “This isn’t me, not entirely. It’s the Shadow thing taking over me. That’s why this sword appeared.”

“Being twinned with a Shadow Kin is known to have these kind of effects,” said Peridot, “although I’ve never seen such aggression before.”

“Peridot, what you gotta understand is that I am a very angry person. C’mon.”

She made her way to the warp pad, Peridot tailing behind. Pearl watched them walk away. She felt like she should follow, but she didn’t know what she could do. She could feel her friend slipping away.

Amethyst stood on the warp pad. “I know what I gotta do,” she said. “I guess the Shadow Kin knows, so I know.

“I…” Peridot faltered. “I’d like to accompany you.”

Amethyst smiled. “Yeah?”

“It’s just that, I’m not sure exactly what you’re about to do, but I know it’ll be dangerous, and I just feel you’d have a better chance of-”

“It’s cool,” said Amethyst. “I’d like that.”

Peridot smiled, a little nervous and confused. It had been a long time since she’d had a proper friend. She took Amethyst’s free hand, and they beamed away.

Pearl clambered to her feet, pulled her sword from the debris, and turned to Charlie. She pulled herself up to her full height, tried to compose herself, and opened her mouth to speak.

In another bright blue flash, a middle-aged human woman in a crimson suit appeared next to her and immediately held her at gunpoint.

Pearl slumped. This was a bad day.

“Pardon my immediate hostility,” said the woman, “but I understand you’re not on glowing terms with Charlie, and I wouldn’t want harm to come to anyone here.”

“I’m sorry,” said Charlie, “who are you supposed to be?”

“Ames, your new headmistress. It’s eleven o’clock Greenwich time and you’ve missed your first three periods: Double Maths and Geography. So I took it upon myself to escort you back to school.”

She approached Charlie and beckoned with the gun for Pearl to follow.

Pearl was hardly in a position to object, but she did have a question. “How do you know so much about us?”

Ames pursed her lips. “The Governors are resourceful.”

She gripped them both and keyed co-ordinates into a vortex manipulator on her wrist, and they all disappeared in a flash.

* * *

As they passed through the slipstream, Peridot turned to Amethyst. “So I’ve surmised you wish to take on the Shadow Kin. But what’s your plan?”

Amethyst grinned widely, chuckling to herself.

“Ah,” Peridot. “I strongly object.”

“Too bad,” said Amethyst. She grabbed her tight around the waist and dived out of the slipstream, her holler mingling with Peridot’s shriek. As they tumbled through the empty space between slipstreams, they were pulled towards the fissure. Amethyst swung forward with her new sword and cut a portal through the fissure. They fell through and landed in a heap.

Rock and fire and darkness seemed to push against them from all sides. Not far off sat an immense, craggy castle. This was the Underneath, located 9,000 years of space travel below the rest of the universe.

“I think Steven has a game like this,” said Amethyst. “Whatever. We know what we have to do.”

Peridot sniffed. “What’s that?”

“Duh. Take ‘em on. Find the freak that’s linked to me and kick him out. Nobody messes with my gem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluorite design is a variation on richdogan.tumblr.com’s Amedot fusion for Starlight: The New Trinity


End file.
